“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5: 14-15
The emphasis here is on God’s will… not ours, and that’s difficult sometimes. Not what we want, but what He wants for us. This verse of Scripture is telling us that if we align our prayers to His will, we can be certain He hears us, and will give us a definite answer (yes, no, or it’s not your time yet). Even though this is in black and white in the Bible… out of the mouth of God… it took me a while to really “get” this.
I can only write from experience. These words are continuously before me – “God sometimes allows what He hates in order to accomplish what He loves.” It has not been easy to wrap my head around this truth. It’s a rather painless thing to declare, but it’s not until you pay the price do you truly comprehend it. Anyway, Jesus prayed that “Your will Be done here on earth as it is in heaven.” That is our model.
Did you know that Paul never met the Colossians? But he faithfully prayed for them. We can learn how to pray from his letter to the Colossians. A few things we can pray for someone are (1) for them to have an understanding of God’s will for them (2) for them to gain spiritual wisdom (3) produce good fruit (4) learn to know God better and better (5) be strengthened with God’s power.
I just got involved with something on Facebook that I think is great. A friend told me she prayed for me, and sent me a link to Praybook . Praybook is an interactive application to help you pray regularly and consistently for your friends on Facebook. (It can even help you pray for friends not on Facebook.) Praybook is meant to help you make a difference in your world through prayer! I’ll end today’s post with Paul’s prayer for the Colossians…
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1: 9-14